What did we say last year? 40 year old industry, space growing - demand flat, economy is bad and may get worse, CEIR index down 5 quarters, stimulus packages has not had desired impact, recovery relies on access to capital, Europe will follow US into recession and now the computer went into hibernation :).
State of Industry today: CEIR index down a record 9 consecutive quarters, all 11 sectors in negative territory, overall back to 2000 numbers.
Building Construction Industry is key to seeing the future as a leading indicator. If buildings are going up, materials are being purchased along with applicances and accessories etc.
CEIR Index Results compared to GDP...they follow along closely...so you can take a look at GDP and figure out how the exhibition industry is doing.
Houston and Boston broke into being on the list of 10 busiest cities for exhibitions and meetings. Nashville is one of the cities that lost ground even though they spent 10 years getting their expansion approved and built. Roanoke may be the biggest winner in the next few years. Canada's total is up 32.9%. Toronto is second only to Las Vegas in convention business.
CEIR Index is making some changes...new source for economic analysis, new approach to calculating formulas, etc.
Can destinations cutting essential services continue to subsidize Convention Center. We need to realize that these facilities were always built as loss leaders otherwise the private sector would be building and running these facilities. That's also why convention center hotels are typically not built without public funding.
Regardless of how project was funded by bonds, the end of the funnel ends at the general fund. So, bonds will be paid by cities even in the face of cutting essential services to the public.
Doug believes that some cities will cease to become or will stop trying to become destination cities because the investment into convention centers is too big a drain on city finances.
Organizers hold the key in cutting costs...they control the meetings. Doug asked organizers why they hold exhibits within their meetings. Most do it for money and so should the business model change...if you are only offering exhibits for money instead of benefits to your company/members, should you re-consider.
Finishing up with a Survivor type contest: who should we vote off the island? Facilities, General Services, Organizers. Overwhelmingly, organizers have been voted off. Facilities are the only essential component...need to have the FACILITY. You can figure out how to do the rest.
Battery is dying...so signing off. Hopefully Doug's presentation will be posted on VenueNet.